Gaza (Quds News Network)- Israel has handed over the decomposed bodies of 84 Palestinian citizens, including some of children and women, to Gaza. These bodies, many unidentified, were seized by Israeli forces from cemeteries within Gaza. This marks the third batch of bodies returned to the Gaza Strip by the Israeli army through the International Committee of the Red Cross amid Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza, now in its 304th day.
Medical sources in Gaza confirmed that the bodies were returned in a severely decomposed state. The Palestinian Ministries of Health and Religious Affairs received the bodies, which were subsequently buried in a mass grave in the Turkish Cemetery in Khan Younis, south of Gaza.
Wafa reported that these bodies had been taken from Gaza cemeteries by Israeli forces and were held for an extended period. The return of the bodies has prompted outrage among Israelis, who demanded an explanation from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Families of Israeli prisoners issued a statement expressing their frustration: "How can the State of Israel hand over 80 bodies without receiving anything in return?", they said.
Hamas condemned Israel's theft of the bodies, stating that the return of the decomposed bodies underscores the inhumane treatment and atrocities committed by Israeli forces. They stated that Israel is engaged in a brutal campaign to destroy life in Gaza and called for international condemnation and accountability for these acts.
"The criminal occupation’s delivery today of more than eighty fully decomposed bodies of martyrs, without any means of identifying them, highlights the sadism of the occupation and the unprecedented level of crime in human history committed by the Nazi occupation army. This includes the killing of unarmed civilians in hospitals and shelters, the abduction of their bodies, and the exhumation of the graves of martyrs and the dead to transfer them to occupation centers", they stated.
At least seven Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip since last night, as Israel continues to violate Trump’s so-called ceasefire agreement — killing hundreds of civilians and blocking desperately needed aid from entering the enclave.
British Health Secretary Wes Streeting privately said in 2025 that Israel was “committing war crimes before our eyes” and carrying out “ethnic cleansing” in the Gaza Strip, and that he supported imposing sanctions on Israel.
Wafa reported that these bodies had been taken from Gaza cemeteries by Israeli forces and were held for an extended period. The return of the bodies has prompted outrage among Israelis, who demanded an explanation from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Families of Israeli prisoners issued a statement expressing their frustration: "How can the State of Israel hand over 80 bodies without receiving anything in return?", they said.
Hamas condemned Israel's theft of the bodies, stating that the return of the decomposed bodies underscores the inhumane treatment and atrocities committed by Israeli forces. They stated that Israel is engaged in a brutal campaign to destroy life in Gaza and called for international condemnation and accountability for these acts.
"The criminal occupation’s delivery today of more than eighty fully decomposed bodies of martyrs, without any means of identifying them, highlights the sadism of the occupation and the unprecedented level of crime in human history committed by the Nazi occupation army. This includes the killing of unarmed civilians in hospitals and shelters, the abduction of their bodies, and the exhumation of the graves of martyrs and the dead to transfer them to occupation centers", they stated.
